Reboot
by Lost At Land
Summary: Most people who were erased from the Game lost their entry fee and their right to exist. Neku Sakuraba was not most people.
1. Throwback

Forty-seven seconds.

Precisely forty-seven seconds was all it took for Neku to make the decision to murder another human being in cold blood, with only the promise of a ticket out of this twisted, backwards Game as incentive. The accusation of the Reaper that Shiki, as they would engrave on her tombstone, was a spy may have helped initially, but in the end it wouldn't have made much difference whether she was or was not a spy.

"Please... don't... don't kill me..." Pleading for her life, as an invisible hand wrapped around her throat and lifted her into the air.

Forty-seven seconds to make the decision. Two more to act on it.

The pink-haired Reaper idly noted that the girl's body hit the ground and vanished into a burst of static at precisely the fifty-second mark. "Woah." she said, in spite of herself. Sure, she had issued the non-mission, but she hadn't expected the boy to actually go through with it.

It was a shame, really. The Reapers could have used someone like him in their ranks. "Well, a deal's a deal, so I'll tell you all about the ticket out you just bought yourself. See, something you might not have known is that a Player can only survive in the UG for seven minutes after their partner is erased."

Neku's eyes widened slightly. "You said you'd get me out!"

The Reaper just laughed. "Being erased counts as getting out, doesn't it? Well, I'd start making your goodbyes, if I was you. You've got, oh, about... wait for it, wait for it... six minutes left. So, bye-bye!"

On that note, the Reaper left. In an alley nearby, a man with shades noted to himself that this would need to be reported, before leaving. He couldn't bring himself to approach the boy, to offer a way to partially restore the girl he'd just erased himself. And he knew in that moment why that boy had been chosen as the proxy for this Game.

* * *

_Tch, tch. Over before it even began, I see._

Neku was vaguely aware of the endless static surrounding him. The experience was rather disorienting, as if he'd been floating through a disconnected TV screen. Well, mostly disconnected because he could still hear a voice coming from everywhere and nowhere.

_Maybe I made the wrong choice, after all..._

He had no idea what the voice was talking about, and frankly he didn't care. It was far more interesting to feel his body slowly decomposing into some sort of gas or fog, starting at his feet and moving upwards.

_Oh, but don't think this little slip up is going to excuse you from our little Game._

And how do you figure that? Is what Neku would have shouted into the static, had he the ability to do so. Sadly, his body seemed to be ignoring his mind. Only the fact that his head was bowed down allowed him to see that everything below his chest had dissolved into that bizarre fog, and that his arms were starting to go as well.

_I'm nothing if not a thorough planner, after all._

Funny, that almost sounded as though he could hear what Neku wanted to but couldn't say. Either way, the boy doubted that sentence meant anything good for him.

_Well, back you go, dear. And this time? Try not to get yourself erased..._

Neku's body finished dissolving, but his mind was still somewhere in the cloud, and he could still feel. And the gripping sensation of being ripped through the static and dragged along to some unknown fate was not something he cared to repeat any time soon.

* * *

Shiki watched as Neku came to. She wasn't sure what to say to him, after all, he'd spent all of yesterday doing his best to be as unapproachable as possible. Nervously, she flipped open her phone again and stared at the picture of two friends as though the answers to the universe would reveal themselves if she looked long enough. Or maybe fiddled with the zoom or the resolution a bit.

So focused on her phone was she, that she barely noticed as Neku's head was thrown backwards violently, as though someone had just punched through his jaw, and his momentary gasping for air as though that same fist had been shoving some sort of object down his throat.

"...nngh... where am I...?" he choked out, fighting off the last of his (likely Reaper-induced) sleep.

"...I hope this works out." Shiki moaned, oblivious to Neku's plight.

Or rather, she was oblivious, until Neku laid eyes on her and panicked. "Shiki!? How?! I... and we... you were...!" _'What the hell is going ON, here...?'_

Shiki screamed, her heart jumping into her throat before she realized that it was only Neku. "D-don't scare me like that!"

"Stop it." Neku said, a bit more forcefully than was probably warranted.

_'It's your fault for frightening me in the first place...'_ Shiki's words, however, did not match up with her thoughts. "Umm...is something wrong?" spoken in her best 'worried' tone of voice.

"I said stop it! Stop repeating! You said the exact same things yesterday! Made the exact same actions! What are you doing on that phone, anyway!?"

As if prompted by the word phone, their phones went off in unison, Neku pulling his out to see what the third mission of the week was.

Set the cursed statue free. You have 60 minutes. Fail, and face erasure. --The Reapers

"Argh! Even the Reapers are in on it, now!?"

"Neku, you're scaring me..." Shiki said, as though the words would actually impact Neku's actions in any positive way.

"You're making the same actions you did, yesterday. We woke up in the same place, yesterday. This is even the same **mission** from yesterday! What is going on here!?"

"...no, it didn't. This is all new to me..." Neku was willing to bet if he squinted, he could see the gears turning in her air-filled head.

He was far more concerned with connecting the dots in his own mind, however. _First, the Reaper tricks me into signing my own death warrant. Seven minutes after I killed Stalker, I died as well. I found myself floating through some white noise, my body decomposed into fog... and then I somehow ended up at the start of the day, choking on an unknown substance. Could it be that I..._

"Neku, are you **psychic**?" Despite her best efforts to the contrary, she couldn't hide the awe from her voice in that last word. Her partner was _psychic_! This is totally _awesome_! Even if he was an anti-social jerk... or maybe because he was an anti-social jerk! I mean, if she saw the future all the time, she'd probably find it hard to relate to people...

"Don't be stupid. There's no such thing as psychics." the boy deadpanned in response. "It was probably just a bad dream and some deja vu."

The girl would have retorted, but the look on Neku's face made it quite apparent that the discussion was over. "Well, I guess..." she conceded, "We should probably get going on this mission."

In lieu of an actual response, Neku just started strolling over to where he knew the wall was, deciding he could worry about the implications of his jaunt backwards through time later. They had a lot of ground to cover, after all.

* * *

**SECRET REPORT 2 – Version 1**

As the game was set to end, an intense **burst of Soul** led me to the Composer's **handpicked proxy** – one **Neku Sakuraba.**

However, I arrived **too late** to prevent the proxy from **erasing his partner**.

In the UG, **Players** are required as part of the first mission to **make a pact** with one another in order to **fight the Noise**.

Once a pact has been **forged**, a communal exchange of **Imagination** begins.

This allows a pair of **Partners **to effectively counteract the ability of Noise to **shift between the two folds of their native plane.**

If a pact is **abruptly severed**, such as by one of the two Players being **erased, **a rapid **entropy of Soul** begins, causing the surviving player's existence to **run out** within seven minutes.

Though there are several ways to **prevent this from happening**, I am forbidden from personally acting on any of them.

**The Composer must now either select a new proxy, or else concede his Game with the Conductor.**

I await the Composer's response to this development.

* * *

_Congratulations on making it to the end of Chapter 1! This fic, which I'm still deciding whether or not to see any further (or to completion, even) is both my way of dealing with Writer's Block and examining a plot bunny I've always been fascinated by - what if the characters in a game could remember dying and being thrown back to the last save point?_

_And so it begins - maybe. Review if you like it, or even if you don't. I enjoy hearing people's thoughts!  
_


	2. Shaky Ground

"Oww!" Oh. Right. There was a wall here. He had forgotten about it. Now, where was that guy in the red hoodie...?

"Another wall?" Shiki moaned, before panic began to set in. "No... we'll never finish the mission now..."

Neku was reminded of why he'd agreed to erase her yesterday... today? She was annoying, she couldn't pull her own weight, and she couldn't just leave him alone and let him _think_. Of course, someone or something had already made it perfectly clear that he was stuck with her unless he wanted to spend the rest of existence repeating the same day over and over, so he supposed he'd just have to find some way to keep her from becoming too much of a pain in the ass. Now, about that wall...

"Neku! Neku!"

_Is thirty seconds so much to ask for? Really? _"What." In his best monotone voice. This was going to be a long day, he just knew it. Perhaps he could liberate some duct tape from a supply store or...

"There's a strange guy over there and he's been staring at us for the past two minutes!"

_Right on schedule._ Well, she was good for _something_, at the very least. "If he can see us, he probably has something to do with the Game. Which means..."

Shiki, oddly enough, caught on. "He made this wall!"

That seemed to prompt him to walk over. "You." Pointing at Neku, just like last time. "Scan and erase all the Noise in this area."

"What? But there aren't any Noise here!" Shiki again, protesting, because apparently miracles only happened once.

"Yes, there are." As though he was speaking to an elementary school child. "You have to _scan_ for them."

Looking visibly affronted, Shiki reached for her Player Pin. "Well, you don't have to be so mean about it..." (What am I doing wrong? We're supposed to be working together, not at each other's throats...)

Neku paused before homing in on the first Noise. Knowing Shiki, she was going to whine and complain again about how he should try the other pins he should have. Experimentation during the first time they'd gone through this day had already proven he could use them all, but only four at a time would work in a Noise combat zone. He switched to the four pins he hadn't used yet today - Psychokinesis, Force Rounds, Thunderbolt and Shockwave - and with a confirmation from his nigh-useless partner that Yes, she could in fact handle this, he scanned and engaged the first of the Noise.

* * *

Three utterly tedious rounds with the Noise later, and the wall was gone.

"But that was weird..." Shiki muttered, and Neku decided to tune out the rest of her conversation with the Reaper. She'd turn her attention to him soon enough, anyway. He might as well use the few blessed moments of silence to -

"Well, anyway... You did great!" Exactly as fake-sounding as it was yesterday, Shiki 'complemented' him.

_Oh, come on! You can't even _try_ to make that sound genuine? _"Yes, I know," he deadpanned, "I was able to use all of the pins and that makes me some kind of psych genius. Right?" _Maybe now she'll stop trying to engage in conversation if she thinks I know what she's going to say..._

"You did it again!" she exclaimed, and Neku winced. "You predicted what I was going to say! That's so cool!"

_Well, at least that sounded genuine. Still annoying though. _"Let's just go." Not waiting for a response, because he knew she was committed to this farce of a partnership and would just follow him anyway, he made his way out of the Underpass and into the Bus Terminal.

"H-hey... wait up, Neku!" And on that parting note, she ran after him.

* * *

"C'mon, Neku. You don't need to be so cold... I'm your partner! We're supposed to stick together! Could you at least slow down?" Shiki was practically gasping for breath when she managed to catch sight of Neku's headphones again. _How can he possibly move so quickly?_

"It seems like you're keeping up just fine." Neku intoned, choosing to ignore her short gasps for breath. Apparently, the 200 meter dash to catch up to him was well beyond her physical capacity. _What, did she fail out of gym class or something? Besides, we need to get out of here quickly or we're going to run into..._

"Gotchu puinks now!"

_...him. Ugh. Here we go again..._ "Hello, Beat."

Whatever Beat was expecting, it certainly wasn't to be addressed by name by the orange-haired kid before him. "Wha- hey! Don't think saying my name is gonna throw me off! You Reapers may have gotten the drop on us yesterday, but this time I'mma drop you, yo!"

Before Neku could make any more comments - and likely start a fight with Beat - his partner appeared, coming to the rescue. "Beat, stop it! They're not Reapers! See, they've got Player Pins, just like us!"

"What? Oh... Yo, sorry I jumped to conclusions. I just figured that since I couldn't scan you guys..."

"Players probably aren't able to scan each other... remember, Beat? You couldn't scan me when you tried, yesterday."

_Finally, someone with half a brain! It's like water in the desert! _"That makes sense..." the orange-haired boy agreed, mostly to attempt to get off on a better foot with Beat and Rhyme. Granted, Beat was giving Shiki a fantastic contest for the 'Most Annoying Person' award in this messed up game, but Rhyme seemed to have a good head on her shoulders and he severely doubted his ability to go through a whole week of Shiki without any breaks.

"Yo, by the way, Phones..." Neku repressed a sigh, he didn't need to be a psychic (and he wasn't, no matter how many times Shiki protested to the contrary) to know what was coming next. "How'd chu know my name? I don't remember sayin' it..."

"Neku's some kind of **psychic**!" Shiki declared, with genuine enthusiasm. Apparently, she had a crush on all psychics or something because it seemed to Neku that this was the only time she ever sounded genuine. "Between us, there's not a pin he can't use and he's even had **visions**!"

"Really? Woah. That's intense, yo."

_Now there's two of them, great. Just great. _"I already told you already, there's no such thing as psychics."

"Yeah?" Shiki responded, sarcasm laced in her voice. "Alright then, Mister Not-Psychic, how do YOU explain what you can do?"

"Nngh..." _We got erased and then I got sent back in time because not even being erased is going to get me out of this stupid game. Yeah, that's much more believable..._ "I don't know. But I can't possibly be psychic. There's no way."

"Oh, I getchu." Clearly, some higher power - probably whoever was in charge of this freaky game - had it out for him. "Right then, you're _not_ psychic." Now Beat was in on the act, and it was probably too late to turn tail and run. "Yo, lemme make it up to you guys for jumpin' the gun like dat, alright? If there's anything you need to know, just ask Rhyme and me here."

"Hmm... I have a few questions..."

* * *

Neku was stubbornly refusing to look up from his timer, watching the seconds tick by as Shiki persisted with her litany of questions. Finally, however, Shiki seemed to run out of things to ask.

"If that's everything, don't you think it's about time we got back to the mission?" Neku held up his hand for emphasis, the emblazoned timer reading **98:42** and counting down.

"Yo, he's right! Let's bounce!"

With no further prompting, the four were off, Neku falling to the back of the group even before the red-clad Reaper came into view. Rhyme joined him quickly once she spotted the Reaper, leaving Beat and Shiki to jog ahead obliviously...

"Oww! Yo, who put dis wall here!?"

Try as she might, Rhyme couldn't keep from giggling a little.

Neku had much better control over his emotions, however. "I would imagine... that guy." Pointing at the Reaper for emphasis.

"So we just have to beat some more Noise, right?"

_Don't be stupid, they're not all going to demand the same thing._ Turning to the Reaper, Neku asked "What are your terms?"

"Terms...?" Shiki queried, and Neku had to work hard to bite back his sarcastic remark. He _really_ didn't want to ruin a potential friendship with what was likely the only intelligent Player in this game. One small jab was definitely not worth being sentenced to a week of non-stop Shiki, no way.

"My terms," the Reaper began when he decided that nobody else was going to speak, "Lift the statue's curse."

"Yo, whatchu tryin' to pull!" Beat yelled, "The statue's past this wall!"

"I don't get paid to chit-chat. Play the Game."

_Solve the riddle for them and deal with another 'You're _**psychic**_!!' outburst from Stalker and Beat, or waste more time and stay silent... Decisions, decisions._

Neku was, however, saved from having to make that decision by the timely intervention of Rhyme. "Look! There's another statue over there!"

"Huh? Oh yeah... that's one of 'dem Moai statues, ain't it?"

"Mo-YAI statue. But, yes, it is... that's odd. What's it doing there...?"

"I'd say the bigger issue is all those noise floating around it." Without waiting for a response, Neku moved to engage the Noise hanging ominously around the moyai, his irritating partner and their two... comrades? allies? associates? moving to cover him. Irritating as Shiki and Beat were, at least they could pull their own weight in a fight.

* * *

When the rush of light Neku had by now associated with entering a Noise fight had subsided, his gaze fell upon...

_Rhyme? What's she..._

"Good luck, Neku!" Spoken with a smile. Neku didn't smile back, mildly irritated that he now had to worry about friendly fire as well.

Of course, it could have been worse. He could've ended up in the same zone as Beat.

The Noise attacking them both prevented Neku from thinking about it any further, as he went to work erasing the group of frog noise "cursing" the moyai statue.

* * *

Two noise sigils later, and the moyai statue seemed just a little bit brighter... although it could have been a trick of the light.

"Awright! That was easy!" Beat couldn't resist ending his sentence with a fist pump.

"I imagine it's only going to get harder from here, Beat." was Rhyme's response, while Neku simply turned to the Reaper standing vigil by the wall and gave a pointed stare.

"Objective met. Wall clear."

_And with over an hour to spare. I can handle this, easy._

"Then, onwards to Hachiko! Let's wrap this up quick! We might even have time to go shopping, afterwards!"

Neku, however, was concerned with things more important than potential time for shopping. "Listen. Be on your guard. They've probably got something a bit more dangerous than those frogs 'cursing' Hachiko."

"You would know, wouldn't you?" with a smug grin, as though what Neku had just said could be construed as an admittance of having psychic powers - and that said 'victory' was something for Shiki to celebrate.

* * *

"Well, looks like it's about that time again... better go head things off before Phones does something rash."

Flipping the sign on WildKat's front door back to the 'Closed' position, a man known fondly by some as 'Mr. H' adjusted his shades and set off to meet with a very important Player.

* * *

"I don't know what you were so worried about, Neku! Those things went down easy. And look! The timer's gone! So I guess we've got some free time now, right?"

Shiki was positively beaming, cheerful enough for both her and her partner. Which may or may not have been a good thing, as Neku was dreading what was about to come.

_That pink-haired Reaper... she only let up last time because she tricked me into offing my partner. I'm not about to try that again, getting erased once is enough, but... how do I stop her?_

As though summoned by Neku's thoughts, the pink-haired Reaper appeared, muttering about 'how infuriating' them completing the mission was... she probably wouldn't have even noticed them this time around were it not for Beat.

"Gotchu cornered this time! Time to pay you back for yesterday, yo!"

_Nice, Beat. She might have even passed us by this time, and then you had to go and draw attention to us..._

"Yesterday? Hmmm... what happened yesterday?" the pink-haired Reaper pondered aloud, just a hint of mockery in her voice.

"Don't play dumb with me! You dropped all those Noise on us!" Beat practically roared.

"Well, ex-_cuuuuuuse_ me for doing my job! You know, because the group of you didn't disappear like you were supposed to, I lost my bet with Kariya... you all owe me a bowl of ramen for that."

"Well this time we brought friends, yo! We're takin' you down, Pinky!"

That got a reaction from the Reaper. "Leave my hair out of this, Skulls! Talking a big game like you're all that... this oughta shut you up quick!"

_I'm dead. Again. I'm going to have to go through this entire day, again. This sucks._

* * *

**SECRET REPORT 2 – Version 2  
**

I must revise the daily report I had previously penned.

**This is because an unprecedented event has occurred.**

**An unstable temporal shift has caused the UG's Day cycle to reverse itself.**

**This means that the events of this Day as they once were have been completely undone.**

**Any Players who had been erased have been restored to existence, and their entry fees are still refundable.**

**No Players or Reapers will remember the events of the previous version of this day.**

However, as an **Angel**, I enjoy all the benefits of Our kind, which include the ability to **remember** events **as they originally occurred** even if a temporal shift should **cause those events to change**.

I can only speculate as to the reason for the shift. However, it is safe to assume that the **proxy** is involved in some way.

This merits further observation.

* * *

_And lo, does Axnyr force you all to suffer through the first ever cliffhanger! Ain't I a stinker?_

_The astute among you (all 59 of you unique visitors, two of whom came back a second time for some reason or other) may notice that I cut this right before a battle, and that I also cut around any noise battles before Metal Corehog. The reason for this is two-fold: one, I didn't want to keep this waiting while I figured out how to address battles (The World Ends With You does, after all, have a very interesting battle system that I'd like to avoid making seem... well, dumb) and two, I haven't yet decided whether or not a) Uzuki's noise barrage sends Neku careening back to the start of the day, b) Beat and Neku decide that the only way to stop the barrage is to knock off the source (and, if so, whether or not they drive Uzuki into falling back or not), or c) Mr. H shows up to save the day. Anyone reviewing can vote, and I might tally those votes and act upon them.  
_

_You may be interested to know that 15% of the time between this chapter and the previous one was figuring out how thick to lay on Beat's accent, and another 75% deciding if I liked Secret Report 2 Version 2 as it is. This is the original version of it - I finally decided to leave it as is, because that's just like Mr. H to know exactly what happened. Doesn't mean that I didn't go back and forth on my decision to leave it as-is about 12 times, let me tell you._

_As for why Neku hasn't had a violent outburst yet this time around... well, he might be incredibly anti-social at this point in the Game but he's, at the very least, able to learn from his mistakes._

_And he figures that alienating the siblings Bito the last time he went through this day was a mistake - after all, they provide an all too welcome distraction from Shiki (whom he's failed to warm up to yet.) And besides, I defy you to hate Rhyme. Have you tried hating on Rhyme? It's impossible. Even for Jerk!Neku._

_Yes, Rhyme showing up with Neku in a combat zone is somewhat important. This is my personal opinion as to what would happen if multiple sets of players attempted to engage the same Noise/Reaper/GM. As you know, such a situation never happened in-game and is therefore open to executive/editorial interpretation.  
_

_I really hope I didn't mess this one up, since apparently I've got people who like the idea and want to see where it goes. Let me know at any time if I need to fix something.  
_

_Special thanks to _**Silvaria**_, _**Enigmatic Igor**_, _**Inspiration of Imagination**_, and _**mcdoomburger**_ for approving of this story. You guys are responsible for this next chapter, not me. Please don't kill me if I wrecked it with this next chapter!  
_

* * *


	3. Drifting Together

Clearly Uzuki's choice in Noise wasn't affected by the fact that Neku had shown up with backup, this time. He was, once again, staring down that annoying black porcupine.

Worse yet, this time he'd ended up standing next to Beat.

"Yo, Phones! Let's roast this thing, then go after Pinky!"

'Phones' didn't feel like dignifying that with a response. He was getting really tired of that nickname, really quickly. Flipping the Shockwave pin over in his hand, he charged forwards, ripping into the side of the Corehog - of course, just like last time, the thing took minimal damage from his attack.

"Hey, wait up, yo!" Beat moved to join in with pounding, but was quickly forced back by the two wolf Noise, and ended up dealing with them instead. Neku was forced to admit - if begrudgingly - that the entire battle seemed to be going a lot easier with Beat drawing away most of the attacks from the wolf Noises, so he could focus on the porcupine. Which was, in and of itself, a blessing - the Shockwaves didn't seem to be doing much more than making it angrier. And, of course, it was Neku's luck that his pin would enter its reboot phase the moment the Noise was irritated enough to start counterattacking.

Neku quickly found himself tossed backwards by the Noise's grafitti-like spines. _Nngh! Fine. You want to play it that way..._ the Shockwave pin was shoved back into his pocket without a second thought, Neku exchanging it quickly for a Force Rounds pin. After backpedaling to avoid being skewered by that Noise's spines, he resumed the offensive, attempting to wear the Noise down... slowly, but surely.

* * *

Shiki and Rhyme, contrary to their male partners, were having a much easier time with the Noise in their combat zone.

_How did we ever get through Day 1 alone...? This is much easier!_ were Shiki's thoughts, as she watched Rhyme flipping around like a trained acrobat, firing some kind of psych (she couldn't really make it out from this distance away) from inside her sleeves. Mr. Mew was floating around, occasionally following up on one of Rhyme's attack with a swipe or a punch. Shiki was greatful for Rhyme's presence, though - the Noise seemed to be too focused on trying to pin her down to make various attacks on Shiki, who would be the first in line to admit that if not for Mr. Mew and her limited psychokinetic ability, she'd be a sitting duck in combat.

_At the rate we're going... this game is in the bag! But... Neku... I can't help but be a bit worried about you..._

_

* * *

_Given that no matter what attack Neku (and Beat, who had finished off the wolves and began to assist with the porcupine) used, the Noise showed no physical indicators of damage, it came as something of a surprise to Neku when one final Shockwave to the side of the Noise caused it to abruptly (and rather dramatically) explode in a burst of what resembled television static.

He probably should have been expecting it, having already gone through this battle once before. Of course, that time he'd been notably closer to his breaking point, and therefore less focused on how Noise went suddenly from looking "perfectly healthy" to "dead" (because whoever ran this Game seemed to have set it up according to B-List Classic Roleplaying Games) or how if nothing else, another pair of Players made the thing go down that much faster.

Another flash of light and the group of four was back in the UG, Uzuki fixing them with a rather disdainful stare. "You guys are, like, so much tougher than you look. Maybe I'll get some fun out of this, after all!"

"Playtime's OVER, Pinky! Maybe other Players is just gonna sit there and let you throw a whole buncha Noise att'em until they break, but we ain't them, yo! We're takin' out the source!"

"Oh, please." Uzuki seemed ready to double over, laughing as she was. "You aren't... ha ha ha... seriously planning on... ha ha... fighting me? Bwa ha ha ha ha! How stupid can you possibly get!?"

"It's four of us and one of you. You really want to play the odds, Reaper?" _Because I sure as hell don't, if they're the ones passing out the missions..._

"Hmph. Well, I was getting bored anyway. So, since you four seem all too eager to throw your lives away-"

"Hey!" a voice cut in, throwing off Uzuki moments before she drew the group of Players into a combat zone. "That's enuffa that!"

"What!?" was the incredulous response from the Harrier, "Who are you?!"

The owner of the voice walked into clear view - a scruffy looking man in a black vest and shades. "Ah-ah-ah, sister. You gotta play by the rules. Reapers are forbidden from attacking Players directly until Day 7 - and only the Game Master."

"It is!?" Neku and Beat exclaimed in synch, but both were ignored.

"I know that - but they were going to attack me! If I defended myself in response, there's no violation!"

"Only if you defended yourself within reasonable limits. You and I both know that stops well before erasure."

"Yeah, but I never actually engaged, therefore I never broke any rules!"

"Then start walkin'. You're done here."

"You know..." Uzuki began, looking every bit like she was grasping at straws now to save face. "For a Player, you seem to know an awful lot about a rules... I can't help but wonder..."

"Give it up, Uzuki." Another voice cut in, belonging to an orange-haired Reaper who was walking up to stand next to his partner. "He's got you beat, and you owe me that ramen anyway."

"B-but Kariya!" the pink-haired Reaper was refusing to accept defeat at this point, "There's no way a Player could-"

"That's no Player." Kariya cut her off, and (refusing to elaborate on that criptic remark) turned to leave. "C'mon, I'm starving." Then, with a parting nod and a 'sorry for the trouble,' the Reaper duo were gone again, leaving four very confused Players in their wake.

"Umm... I'm not sure what just happened," Shiki had admittedly been too focused on worrying what she was going to do when the other shoe dropped to focus on the conversation, and was a bit confused as a result, "But, thanks for saving our lives, Mister..."

"Oh! Right, I haven't introduced myself. Hanekoma. Sanae Hanekoma." A small, formal bow. "Think of me like... a guardian, of sorts. I watch the Game, making sure shady types don't start bending the rules."

"Yo, like Pinky tryin' to bait us into attackin' her so she could wipe us out?" Beat queried.

"From where I was standing, it looked an awful lot like she didn't even need to bait you!" Hanekoma countered, "You and Phones here were ready to rush her, all guns blazing, not even stoppin' to think about your partners or how powerful she might be!"

"We could've taken her! She was outnumbered and her partner was MIA!" Neku protested. _Now if only I could convince myself of that, my hands might stop shaking._

"Yeah? You ready to stake this young lady's life on it?" Somehow, that sentence sounded a fair bit darker than the rest of what the man had said so far, as though he knew what Neku's answer was and didn't approve of it at all. To his credit, Neku didn't protest - the memory of the last time he'd gone through this day and had personally ended Shiki's life forcing its way to the top of his memory. "I thought so. Now, apologize to your partner."

"Come again?" was all Neku managed - whatever he was expecting from the man, it wasn't that. _This conversation is getting weirder by the minute..._

"You heard me! Hard feelings make for bad teamwork."

"...alright." Neku, wisely, chose to just roll with it - there was something about this 'Hanekoma' guy that caused him to think twice about lashing out at the man. And, of course, the fact that he didn't want to see if his relationship with his 'partner' could get any worse. "I'm sorry."

"Neku... um... don't worry about it, alright? It's not like I was screaming 'Don't do it!,' right?" _Probably because I was too afraid of that Reaper to even speak..._

"There! Problem solved." It could have been Neku's imagination, but the whole area seemed to brighten a little. "Now, listen up. There's only one way to survive in this Shibuya. Trust your partner! Partnership is essential in this Game. Alone, you face limitations. But partner up, and you can smash right through them! Just like when you're fighting the Noise."

Rhyme's ears perked up slightly. She'd been ignoring the conversation when it seemed like all the man was going to do was beat her partner and Neku over the head for being a bit too aggressive, but she had a feeling that this was important.

"You may have thought you were alone, but you're not. You've got allies fighting right next to you, and your partner's in the other zone, sharing your energy. You gotta sync up! Send that energy back and forth."

Neku was by far one of the least social people in school, back when he was in school. But he had prided himself on being a scholar, if nothing else. Though his memories were gone, his ability to _think_ - gathering, analyzing, processing information - was undiminished. And he remained silent, listening intently to what was, on the surface, a 'Power of Friendship' speech that wouldn't have been out of place in a shōnen manga. And he listened, not because he was genuininely interesting in pursuing a deep and meaningful relationship with anyone else here - at most, they were valued allies, comrades in arms - but because 'Hanekoma' was saying something _important_. And the sooner that he could extract that important piece of information from the speech, the better off he'd be.

"But!" Hanekoma exclaimed abruptly, causing Beat to recoil for a moment. This entire confrontation had been sailing right over his head, and he was abruptly reminded of all those times in school when he would be zoning out, and the teacher would suddenly yell at him.

_Least I don't haveta worry 'bout school now..._ Even if he did win the Game, and was returned to life, it would be after his 15th birthday - and he'd be freed from the evil that was compulsory education. It wasn't like he was ever gonna NEED any of that stuff, anyway. _...right?_

"You're not gonna sync up unless you open up. Talk to your partner! Tell her how you're feeling! You can't read each others' minds. The only way you're gonna get something across is if you get it out in the open!"

Shiki blinked, suddenly feeling a bit of the same off-putting feeling that had easily cowed Neku earlier. Mr. H had gone right out and said he was an overseer of the Game, but the way he was speaking... _Has he been watching _**us**_, specifically?_ She repressed a shiver. Having saved their lives or not, it was still creepy to know that this older-looking guy had been watching them at some point. _Still..._ "He's right, Neku. ...I want to understand you, I really do! One minute you're practically screaming at me, then suddenly you refuse to say a word. One minute it seems like nobody else matters to you, and then... Look. I know that I'm weak, that I'm horrible with psychs, that I'm probably not anybody's first choice for partner, teammate, or anything... but I want to win this Game! I want **us** to win this Game! And if nothing else, can't you please just tell me what you're thinking...? Even if you're just going to yell some more. That's better than the silent treatment."

Neku stayed silent, for a good fifteen seconds. He had no response for that - even though the event hadn't actually occured, his murdering of Shiki and subsequent death had sucked away most of the violent anger he'd held towards her for what he had perceived as tricking him into being bound to her. He hated having to admit that to himself, because it meant that - horror of all horrors! - he was actually warming up to her. And though his memories were gone, his blood still ran cold whenever he stopped to analyze that - as though he'd opened up to someone before and suffered tremendously for it.

Finally, when Shiki was about to start speaking again, Neku found his voice. "...I can't. Because, I want to understand me too... but when I woke up in the Scramble-" _two days ago_ "-yesterday, my memory was gone. I don't know where I came from, I don't know who I am, all I know is my name... and my feelings, which come from things I can't remember."

Beat's eyes widened slightly. He'd thought that he'd gotten the short end of the stick, waking up to find Rhyme acting like he was a stranger... but that was nothing compared to what Phones had to deal with. "That's rough, yo..." Beat knew that he wasn't the smartest tool in the shed. Still, he had his moments - and he knew why Phones remained stubbornly tight-lipped and gave them the cold shoulder whenever he could. After all... how could he relate to others, if he couldn't even relate to himself?

* * *

When he next regained consciousness, Neku's vision stubbornly refused to come back into focus.

_The underpass _**again**_...? No. This is somewhere different. ..._ "WE'RE SOMEWHERE DIFFERENT!!" he half-screamed, in triumph. That meant it was a new day! He was free!

"Neku...? Are you... feeling okay?" Shiki looked at him skeptically, from where she was sitting on the floor. "We wake up somewhere different every day..."

"...forget I said anything. Where are we...?"

Shiki was **not** smirking. No, her face was perfectly straight and its not like you could make out the little details anyway, given how dark it was. She was definitely not doing a little dance, and _I know something you don't know!_ was certainly not the thought running through her head. No, sir. That would be childish, and unbecoming of the mature young lady that she was. Yes, Shiki was as serious as a heart attack. "I think... we're in A-East. That's the theatre." Now that she knew Neku's memories were gone, it was a lot easier for her to accept the fact that he really didn't know things that everyone who'd spent more than a day in Shibuya should know.

"Yo, who turned out the lights..." Beat groaned, from somewhere nearby - not that anybody could see him through the inky darkness.

From the same general area came Rhyme's own voice. "Mmm... morning... its day three now, right? Have we gotten the mission yet?"

_Beep, beep!_ As though cued by Rhyme's question, all four phones went off at once, carrying the mission mail.

Defeat the Master of A-East. You have 360 minutes. Fail, and face erasure. --The Reapers

"Nngh!" _Timer's back. Six hours...? But they dumped us right here. Why would need six hours...? 'The Master' has to be some kind of Noise. So all we need to do is scan for it and..._

"What the hell!? My Player Pin ain't workin', yo!" Beat exclaimed.

_Oh. Great. It's super-darkness that obscures scanning, too._

* * *

**SECRET REPORT 3 – Version 1  
**

The **proxy** possesses a unique **ability**.

His **Soul**, already **far more dense** than the average Players', is **all-inclusive**.

Allow me to define Soul, as it exists within the **Underground**.

Soul is **abstract matter** revealed through Our research into life and death, and a base component in the makeup of **all phenomena**.

More importantly, through the use of **pins**, Soul is **converted** into Imagination, which fuels **psychs**.

Psychs can be arranged into categories based on the **properties** of each individual psych.

One such property is a psych's individual **frequency**, which **corresponds** to the varying frequencies of Players' **Soul energy**.

Most players can only use psychs with frequencies **similar or identical** to their Soul's own frequency.

However, much like a skeleton key can open any lock, an all-inclusive Soul is capable of **adapting** to fit **any psych**.

This is an ability only seen amongst **higher level Reapers**, and indeed, Our kind.

The implications are enormous.

* * *

_Combat! Real combat! And I hope I haven't made a mess of the combat... have I?_

_Some of you might be wondering why Beat and Rhyme switched zones between this chapter and last chapter. There's a long, jargon-heavy, techno-babbled explanation for it, but the place for that is a Secret Report. So here's the short version: it would get boring for me to have Neku in the same zone as the same person/people all the time. However, I value your opinions so if you'd prefer that Neku always show up in the same combat zone with Rhyme, you can let me know and I'll take it under advisement. (Those of you so inclined can vote in the poll, if you so prefer.)  
_

_I decided to the end the chapter where I did because I'm still pulling together a game plan for Day 3 - which is an intensive process that involves elaborating on Rhyme's skills, assigning her a psych, and generally giving her the screen-time she deserves as opposed to the 10 or so lines she got in the game. Besides, as I'm writing this post-script I'm getting 'Second Guessing Syndrome' which is where I start wondering if this chapter is acceptable as-is or if I should edit it some more. In case you couldn't tell, I suffer from Second Guessing Syndrome easily - as always, your reviews help to assure me I'm either doing it right or where I should change things if I'm doing it wrong._

_On the subject of Rhyme, I need to assign a brand to her. If anyone would like to, you can nominate Rhyme for one of the following brands: Natural Puppy, Mus Rattus, Sheep Heavenly, or (with a bit of a boost to Rhyme's Bravery stat) Lapin Angelique. Lapin Angelique is on this list mostly because I imagine you could get a few yuks from Beat's reaction to Rhyme in Lapin Angelique. Somewhere between 'horrified big brother' and 'confused relative who doesn't understand his younger sister as much as he thought he did.' Hee._

**Silvaria**_ and _**Enigmatic Igor**_ get a specially mentioned special thanks for tossing their two cents into my sort-of vote that I'd presented in the last note. Belatedly, I probably should've tossed up an actual poll but I don't understand that feature. Anyway, Silvaria voted C and Enigmatic Igor voted B... after weighing both options (and taking into account that Kariya's been around for a VERY long time and seems to know a fair bit more than he ought to), we got this comprimise. Feel free to berate me if you think that was a bad move on my part._

_Special thanks to _**Inspiration of Imagination**_, _**Korean Boron-Paper Stars**_, _**2Percent**___,_** Broken Angel01**_, and _**mcdoomburger**_ for leaving reviews. You guys are phenomenal and at least 25% of the reason why I got this chapter out so quick. I'd hate to keep you guys waiting any longer than I need to.  
_

_To the other 38 of you (collectively known hence-forth as _**drive-by readers**_): thanks for taking time out of your day to read this. I'd love to thank you personally, but I don't know any of your names._

* * *


	4. Fabricate, Duplicate

"...alright. We find the exit first." Neku said, at last. The silence was getting to be deafening, and he really didn't feel like hanging around in pitch darkness with a Noise that would likely force him to restart this day in short order if they didn't _move_.

"Exit's good, yo. I like exits. Yeah, le's bounce..." Beat seemed to be just as nervous as he was, if not more.

More silence met Beat's words, with only the timer burned onto Neku's hand to remind him that time was, in fact, still moving. And it had taken exactly 108 seconds (not that Neku was particularly interested in the number) for Shiki to finally declare (a bit more loudly than might have been necessary) that she had found the exit.

None of them seemed particularly interested in hanging around, and so they were gone in very short order.

* * *

The dual Reaper/musician known by most as simply "777" (pronounced 'triple seven,' **not** 'seven-seven-seven' because that was significantly less cool) was annoyed.

When he'd reported for his Harrier Reaper duties in the morning, six hours before the Players were to be woken up, he hadn't been pleased that A-East was going to be the location for the Day 3 Mission, but he could deal.

When it turned out that a key part of that mission involved a Noise that generated darkness, he hadn't been pleased, but with a bit of vocal exercise, he could deal.

When it was made apparent that this darkness was going to wreak havoc upon the lighting circuitry in the Realground, he'd been quite displeased, but with that vocal exercise and the wonderful work of his techie, he could probably deal.

But when he'd sent his techie out for parts with a no-limit credit card (tied to the band's coffers which were one of the few 'Reapers in the Realground' expense accounts that were periodically filled with money that came from the Powers That Be) no less than four hours ago and he hadn't seen hide or hair of the man since, The Line had officially been Crossed. He could no longer deal. The Players were going to be waking up soon, and that meant his rehearsal time had just taken a crippling shot, courtesy Reaper top brass.

_Well, at least I'm on wall duty. I get to hang around here, stopping Players from getting into the hall before its showdown time. They could've just as easily put me on the runaround like Team Lollipop..._

It was a little-known fact amongst most Reapers, but among the lower-echelon Support Reapers whose business was mechanics and maintenance it was an infamous fact that the 'barricade psych' (or wall-maker, as it was more commonly known) was designed by someone with a very... interesting sense of style. Everything he did was a testament to Spartan or Minimalist as a higher art-form, and as a result, walls were implicitly 'one-sided' - they could keep someone out easy, but they were as effective as a shōji screen for keeping people in. To this day, nobody had managed to correct that 'design flaw.' Most chose to treat that drawback as irrelevant, anyway - who puts up walls to keep people in somewhere, anyway?

Apparently, whatever power was responsible for moving the Players to their daily starting positions had it out for 777 - he nearly jumped a foot in the air when his invisible wall shattered like invisible glass and four Players came practically running out of the concert hall.

_Yo, do you have any idea how annoying it is for me to make those!? And my band-mates are too far away to throw another one up for me! Now I'm _**really**_ annoyed- wait... I can make this work for me. Was planning on making 'find the tech' the terms anyway..._ "Perfect timing!" 777 didn't bother to hide his smirk as the group of Players jumped. _Karma dispenses justice swiftly. Yeaaaaah! _"You four!"

"Us!?" The four chorused in response, varying emotions coloring each Player's voice - worry from Shiki, confusion from Rhyme, and open hostility from Beat and Neku.

"Yeah, you guys. Since you just busted down the wall I was **supposed** to be guarding by coming through on the wrong side of it, you kind of owe me."

"You're a Reaper, then." Rhyme declared. "Why haven't you summoned Noise on us?"

"Well, I'm not too big on the cliché 'toss out noise like Pokémon' M.O. that some of my coworkers are fond of. I mean, there's more than one way to earn a paycheck, not that you guys would know... anyway. So! Think you could help a guy out as an apology for busting down my wall?"

Neku was torn. For a Reaper, this guy was being pretty affable. He hadn't sicced Noise on them, and had somewhat politely requested their help. On the other hand, he was still a Reaper, and they had no guarantee it wouldn't be Uzuki all over again when he was done with them. Worse still, Shiki (still holding firm on her theory that he was psychic) was staring at him like the answer to all her questions was tattooed on his face, Rhyme didn't seem like she was willing to take up the mantle of decision maker for their newly enlarged group, and Beat was only interested in following Rhyme's lead. _Do I have to drop the shoe? Really? I'm not leader material! Nngh... I'll regret this..._ "...we're listening. No promises, though."

"Yo, Phones! What the hell!? He's a Reaper!" Beat protested. "Ain't they the enemy!?"

"They're also the people handing out the missions, Beat. And we did bust down his wall... we should hear him out, like Neku said. He could be part of the mission!" Rhyme countered. Neku breathed a silent sigh of relief. The last thing they needed was a dramatic fight right in front of an enemy capable of picking them off in the midst of their squabbling.

"Great!" 777 grinned, seeing that the group had (wisely) decided to help him out. _They look like capable Players, too. I'm feeling better already._ "Okay, here's how it is. My band's got a gig here in a few hours, and the lighting's busted, so we can't rehearse. Sent the techie out for parts a while back, but he's been AWOL ever since. Could you go look for him, see if you can't get him back here somehow? I'd do it myself, but Reaper brass has me camped out here all day. They'll have my head if I bail on this post. 'sides, I gotta work on rebuilding the Wall you guys broke. and knowing my luck with 'em, that's gonna kill so much time."

"We'd love to help," Shiki began, "but..."

"We're invisible to everyone put other Players and Reapers. How do you expect us to even communicate with the guy?"

"Good point. Tell you what. Since you're being so willing to help, I'm going to let you in on a little secret: **blackout**."

As though the word was some sort of hidden trigger, their phones suddenly went off in unison for the second time that day.

Beat's reaction was, at least to Neku, predictable. "BWAH! Whatchu just do, yo!?"

"Judging by the reaction, I'd guess that's your first meme."

"...like futaba channel?" Shiki asked, hesitantly, before ducking her head in response to the strange looks everyone present gave her. "Um, forget I said anything!"

"Memes," 777 continued, as though Shiki hadn't just publically humiliated herself, "are words or ideas prominent in a society. You should've already discovered a few in your phone." A dramatic sigh. "Are they telling new players anything these days? Well... that aside, when scanning someone with your Player Pin, you can imprint a meme on them and it'll jump into their heads. Can't guarantee instant success though, memes aren't mind control and they're open to recepient interpretation. Anyway, that one I just gave you should be helpful in reminding the techie what he's _supposed_ to be doing... but what he is doing, I've got no clue."

"Well, that's useful." Neku muttered, mostly to himself. "Alright, we'll go collect your man."

"Thanks for the tip!" Rhyme called out in earnest, as they were leaving. "We'll be back as soon as we can!"

_...is it even possible for this girl to hate people?_

_

* * *

_In hindsight, he really should've been expecting this.

_Brand new day, same old routine..._

"Want past this wall?" The Reaper began, before making a wild gesture to the surrounding area. "Then take down these Noise!"

The four players braced themselves, waiting for the flash of light that would move them into the combat zones...

...but nothing happened. The Reaper sighed. "Or so they have me say, day in, day out. No matter the Player, just another set of Noise, and when the Noise are all gone, it's 'Wall Clear!' and off they go. Same shit, different day... it just all blends together, y'know? Into a never ending morass of tediousness."

_What the hell? Is this guy high or something?_

"You know what?" he asked at last, and without waiting for a response, "it is time for a change. Enough with the same old, same old! ...YOU! Skulls!"

"BWAH!" Beat reacted instantly. "Me!?"

"No, other Skulls."

"...me?" Rhyme asked, curiously, stepping forward to the front of the group.

"Yeah. You. Come back wearing all Lapin Angelique threads. Do that, and I'll let you guys pass."

Rhyme hoped she wasn't blushing and that there was no trace of nervousness or embarrassment in her voice when she put on her brightest smile, nodded and (before she or anyone else could object and talk her out of it) proclaimed "Sure! That's no problem. Just hang on, okay?" Once finished speaking, she (again, before any protest could occur) spun on her heel and headed off towards the Lapin Angelique store up the street.

"Yo, what kind of a stupid demand is... that..." Beat had begun to protest before noticing that Rhyme had already cleared half the distance to the store and that Neku and Shiki had followed, likely out of morbid curiosity. After all, there was almost no chance of this ending well or without incident. "BWAH! W-wait up, yo! Rhyme!!" He sped off quickly to catch up with the other Players, not noticing the Reaper grin behind him.

"Oh yeah, this is going to be entertaining."

* * *

Though to anyone who might have been observing at the time, Rhyme looked entirely too pleased at the demand of the wall-managing Reaper, this was hardly the case.

She'd cleared the distance between the wall and the Lapin Angelique store in seconds (it was hardly a long walk), but had stopped dead just short of the actual entrance. Despite her best efforts, she'd lost her confidence somewhere along the very short path and was left staring with trepidation at the building.

_Okay, Rhyme, you can do this. The worst that'll happen is a little embarrassment, and that's nothing compared to being in the Reaper's Game._

"Having second thoughts?" Shiki asked.

"NO!" _Whoops, that was a bit too loud. _"I mean... its just... well, I always used to walk by this place. And every time I'd look inside, and see a dress or something on display. And I'd think 'that's so beautiful!' I'd always wanted to actually try it on, but it was always that I'd be short on yen, or if I had the yen, I couldn't ever work up the nerve to actually walk into the store. 'What would my parents think?' or 'What if it looks horrible on me?' or 'What if people stop and stare...?' In the end, I always promised the part of me that loved the attire 'Another day, perhaps' and called it off."

_This is getting us nowhere..._ Neku thought.

"Well, how are you going to know if it looks bad if you don't try it on? We're invisible outside of stores anyway! And besides, all you need to do is wear it to the wall! It's not like this is a permanent makeover! And I promise we won't laugh at you!"

_Is that your idea of encouragement?_

"You're right... and it's now or never, anyway. Alright, I can do this. Just two steps forward..."

* * *

"Welcome to Lapin Ange...lique..." 'Princess K' began, before stopping to actually look at the young girl who had wandered into her store, hopefully for a new look because her old one was hardly doing her any favors. "Oh my. You've come for a new look, yes? Princess K will assist you! Come, with no delay! We have much work to do and so little time with which to create a new you!"

"I... eep!"

From the other side of the doorway (where they were, thankfully, still invisible) Shiki, Neku, and Beat turned to stare at each other.

"We've..." Neku began,

"Made a horrible..." Shiki continued,

"Mistake, yo!" Beat finished, despair coloring his voice.

Sadly, as Rhyme had made them agree to wait outside (for she didn't need a reason to get cold feet and back out yet again) before confiscating their wallets (Makeovers were hardly cheap), the three Players had no choice but to watch the proceedings from the doorway.

"Umm... at least... she takes her job seriously?" Shiki suggested, more to try and break the awkward silence than anything else.

"Yo, that's what I was afraid of!" Beat moaned.

* * *

Eighteen minutes and six seconds later (if Neku were to believe his timer), Rhyme emerged from the store with an outfit that likely contained enough lace to cover A-East's stage.

"Oh, man! Talk about a payoff! Keep that outfit, girl, you are positively adorable! Wall clear, and good luck with the boys! You'll need to beat 'em back. Ha." was the Reaper's comment on Rhyme's new look.

"......Pervert." was Neku's rather clipped response, one final parting shot before they left to find the tech.

The moment they were a fair distance away from the deviant (in more than one sense of the word) Reaper, Beat spun to face Rhyme. "Aight, yo. We're clear. You can go change, we'll wait."

"I dunno..." Rhyme began, adjusting her bonnet and twirling experimentally. "I kind of like this dress. It'd be a waste to toss it after one use, wouldn't it?"

_Can you even fight in that ridiculous getup? We're not exactly on a leisurely afternoon stroll, here.  
_

"BWAH! R-Rhyme!"

"Relax, Beat. I'll find something more appropriate later. Besides, all work and no play..."

"B-but Rhyme..." He sighed. "I'm not goin' ta win this, am I?"

* * *

_That Reaper seriously needs to reconsider his choice in tech staff..._ Neku grimaced.

"The lighting should be back on, now... we got the guy back here with the replacement part. What gives?"

"Betchu anything its that master, yo..." Beat began, but his usual energy had been drained by the events of the day.

Rhyme seemed to be the only one unaffected by the general downturn in mood. Choosing to ignore the "bad vibes" from the rest of her group, she focused on scanning the area - eventually locating a small golden bat. "Do you think that's the master?" She asked, before pointing into the rafters.

"Let's kill it, then, before this mission gets any more complicated!"

As though prompted by Shiki's declaration, the bat Noise dropped down to hover in front of the group of Players, and fixed them with its best menacing stare.

And then it screeched. A horrible, high-pitched screech that summoned the real cause of the darkness - a swarm of much smaller black bats.

Neku dropped into a combat stance and pulled out his Pyrokinesis pin. "Figures the stupid master would have minions... Rhyme! Are you going to be able to fight in that thing!?"

Neku hadn't heard her response over the cacophony of one thousand bat Noise's wings all beating in unison, and he was far more focused on how the thing seemed to be absorbing them and transforming - but the ensuing massacre gave him the answer he wanted.

She wasn't going to be able to fight in that outfit at all.

* * *

_Back so soon, dear?_

Neku forced his eyes open to find himself in the same place he had been sent to when he was erased before.

_You really must learn to take better of yourself._

The annoying voice was here, too. Just like last time.

_We really must learn to stop meeting each other like this._

If Neku had his way, this would be the last time he'd deal with this messed up place and the messed up voice that seemed to exist solely to spite him.

_And back you go, dear! Please try to improve on your combat ability, this time..._

_

* * *

_When he next regained consciousness, Neku's vision stubbornly refused to come back into focus.

That soon proved to be the least of his worries, however, as (with enough force to make his head snap backwards as though he'd been punched) his memories of this day flooded into his mind. _Oh god..._ he silently moaned, _here we go again... damn giant bat..._

* * *

**SECRET REPORT 3 – Version 2  
**

As I suspected, the temporal shifts occur **around the proxy.**

Initial observation provides several pieces of **vital information**.

Firstly, the event seems to be **involuntary**, a reflex of his Soul which still **clings to life**; occurring only as a **last-ditch measure**, in order to **prevent** **physical erasure**.

Secondly, the effects of being at the center of the event **do not transfer** to his Partner.

Thirdly, as the **origin point** of the temporal shifts, the proxy **remembers events as they originally transpired**.

Finally, and most importantly, **the ability to generate these events is an integral part of the proxy's Soul code.**

Taking these facts into consideration along with his all-inclusive Soul leads me to only one possible explanation.

**Neku Sakuraba's Soul code has been drastically**** restructured** **without his knowledge or consent**.

**Among Our kind, this is a** **capital offense**.

**The actions of the responsible party are** **tantamount to treason**.

**I will continue to observe and report, and attempt to ****isolate the Imagination of the guilty party.**

* * *

_Before I go any further, I apologize terribly for the awkward scene splicing. I couldn't figure out what to include in the first version of the day as opposed to the second version - and I didn't want to force a large block of copy-pasted scene repetition down your throats. Forgive me!_

_And yes, I shamelessly admit that I was killed by the giant bat noise at least once.  
_

_Not to mention Secret Report 3 - Version 2... seems Mr. H's caught whiff of some, how we say, 'dirty dealings.' I wonder if this'll evolve into those drastic changes some of you are hoping for, down the road?_

_Special thanks to _**Korean Boron-Paper Stars**_, _**Inspiration of Imagination**_, _**Silvaria**_, _**Alone-by-the-Waterlilies**_, _**Enigmatic Igor**_, and _**2percent **_for leaving reviews __and__ tossing their two cents into my vote that I'd presented in the last note, as well the 5 people who voted in the poll I managed to put up. Woo! I can make polls! Aren't you all so very proud of me? (Thanks as well to _**Amarr**_ and _**Materant**_ who reviewed but did not leave an opinion on Rhyme's outfit.)_

_Anyway, the results are in! Natural Puppy and Lapin Angelique kept switching between first and second place__, Sheep Heavenly is barely getting any love at all but still a third place finisher, and Mus Rattus gets a special mention for not only having zero votes, but also for being the only brand to consistently earn down-votes/negative-votes/hate-votes. Seems like the public at large has no love for the mouse. Fortunately, I don't either and that option was there just for the sake of completeness.  
_

_But, you know... when I had first decided upon the poll, I had honestly expected there to be a clear front-runner. And that... didn't happen! Not by a long shot! I was actually at a loss for what to do... until I realized something. This is Rhyme we're talking about - a million reasons to live, a million different thoughts and hopes and dreams (maybe not so much on that last one at the moment). So I decided to take the overall progression of this poll in the most literal way possible - this chapter has Rhyme in Lapin Angelique thanks to a rather... interesting choice of wall clear terms.  
_

_However, don't expect this to be the case for the entire story though, as Rhyme is rather... indecisive, a trait which is only encouraged to the nth degree by Shibuya's ever-changing trends. The poll is going to remain open indefinitely and you all can continue to vote. Rhyme's outfit for the chapter will change accordingly! (Next chapter is Natural Puppy unless a load of you vote Sheep Heavenly between now and then.)_

_To the _**drive-by readers**_: Time and again, you continue to appear as ticks in my visitors counter, and for that I thank you. Unfortunately, I seem to have misplaced my Player Pin and so cannot divine your names to thank you personally. Still, I appreciate that you spend valuable time to read my story._


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